And To All A Good Night...
by stonecoldfox
Summary: Will's Christmas observations. Just a little holiday vignette.


Will smiled tenderly at the scene that surrounded him, thinking to himself how lucky he was to be able to enjoy such a wonderful day as this one had been. An album of old Christmas jazz songs was playing softly in the background while his friends sat around his and Grace's apartment being… well, being them.

Rosario was sitting beneath the big tree with Elliot, trying her best to help him assemble the new bike "Santa" had given him earlier in the day. Certainly, Elliot didn't believe in Santa… But Will hadn't really written "From Santa" for Elliot's sake. Jack still treasured a long-held faith in the big man in red, and the tag was solely for his benefit. Jack's delusion was, of course, fuelled by the fact that every year Will made sure he had something "From Santa" underneath the tree. Elliot had played along in front of his dad, but grinned at Will afterwards and gave him the thumbs up.

"Rosie, do you have any idea what this… black thingie… is?" Elliot asked politely. The maid shrugged in reply.

"Chico, I think we're missing a screw," a few seconds later Rosario looked over at Elliot, her hands full of miscellaneous bike pieces.

"Hey!" came a shrill voice from the couch nearby. "The boy does not need to hear about your failures in the bedroom! Now get to work on that scooter before I send you back to Taco BellVille!"

"Listen, lady, I'll pour that eggnog down your nose in your sleep!"

"Honey, that's so sweet. But are you sure you could haul your ass out of bed to complete any kind of task in my home?"

"Sure. I have to haul your ass out of bed every morning, what's one more?"

"Oh honey… Merry Christmas!" Karen said sweetly.

"I love the holidays!" Rosario chuckled.

Jack was sitting on the couch next to Karen, smiling down at Elliot, who was concentrating on the task at hand and staring intently at the instruction manual in his lap, entirely unaware of the cute way he stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth when he was absorbed in something. Jack shook his head fondly and looked over at Karen.

"So, Karebear, did Santa bring you what you wanted this year?"

"Well, let's see… Stan's still in jail," she began sadly. "But he bought me an island off the coast of Australia and thanks to Pharmacist, I'm completely numb from the waist up!" She finished brightly, giggling. Jack giggled along with her.

"Well, I got everything I wanted," when the giggle fit ended, he looked down at Elliot, who happened to look up at that moment and smile at his dad. "And plus some things I didn't want, Thank You, Stepfather," Jack rolled his eyes at the sweater he'd carelessly dumped on the coffee table. Karen made a gagging noise and the two collapsed into giggles, falling over each other and the couch.

Will shook his head in amusement at the lunatics on the couch opposite him. He'd been apprehensive about spending Christmas with Karen at first, but it really had turned out to be a great day… yes, even though he'd had to reassess his stock of alcohol at the last minute and haul out in the snow for more supplies. A perfect day like this was worth two or three more bottles of tequila.

He looked down at Grace, who was sitting between his legs on the ground, and pulled back her hair from her face. She tilted her head back and smiled at him, then crawled up onto the couch next to her best friend. They curled up there together, Grace leaning on his chest and Will with his arm around her.

"Hey Grace?" Will said suddenly, while the others were absorbed in their own little goings-on.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad we didn't go away for Christmas this year. You know? I think this is nice. Especially the part where we don't have to spend it with our families."

Grace chuckled softly, thinking of the lunacy she was (thankfully) missing out on at her parents' home right now. "Amen to that, sister."

They were a silent a few more minutes. Will took the time to look around again, committing this night to memory.

There was Elliot, the newest member of the odd little 'family'. He was still there, beneath the tree, trying to figure out the mechanics of his newest acquisition. Will guessed that he'd inherited his father's sense of mechanism. Poor kid.

Rosario had given up on the bike and moved on to refreshing everyone's drinks. Even though she was a guest at Will's, it was difficult not to fall back into the role of maid. Not that she minded. She'd pulled the champagne from the fridge and began topping up all the glasses, including her own, and handed a hot chocolate to Elliot, smiling happily as she passed each guest.

Karen and Jack were absorbed in each other, of course, whispering lewd secrets and giggling like schoolchildren as they poked, touched, and fondled each other in unknown regions.

And grace sat contentedly next to him, smiling against his chest as she slowly fell asleep. He stroked her hair absently.

"Merry Christmas, Gracie," he said softly and kissed her forehead.

"Mmey Chrisssmm…" she murmured against his chest.


End file.
